Profiling Tony
by Killjoyncis
Summary: Set sometime after Meat Puzzle. Kate and Steve Adler discuss her partner. This is set in the same universe as Nothing to Offer. More in this series to come.


Kate really did like Steve Adler. He was funny, handsome, and intelligent. His field of work, psychology, suited her and allowed them to have intense conversations about their occupations and friendly debates about the validity of profiling. He had the opinion that profiling, especially post 9/11, was dangerous, and in the wrong hands could lead to racial segregation and discrimination not seen since the Jim Crow era. Kate didn't agree, instead believing that humanity, despite being flawed, was inherently good, and that the morality that mankind possessed would erase the possibility of repeating those particular mistakes. At this comment, he'd kissed her on the cheek and wryly called her, "my very own idealist." She'd protested that, of course, because she sensed the condescension, but he'd been…very persuasive, and she let the matter drop. For the time being.

It wasn't until later, over Thai takeout, that Steve mentioned Tony. He was telling a story about a frat party that had gotten a little too big for the Ohio State campus police to ignore. All the fraternal officers had refused to share who had purchased the alcohol that their guests had been imbibing (many of whom were underage), and it looked as though the entire order would face expulsion from the university. Then Tony stepped up. In no uncertain terms, he'd confessed to buying the alcohol and inviting the younger students to the party. He convinced the authorities that he had been acting without the knowledge of the rest of the members of the fraternity and that he did it to "fit in and get noticed." Needless to say, once Steve's own father (a lawyer and Alpha Chi Delta alumni himself), had gotten the charges against Tony dropped, the brothers had universally welcomed him back into the fold as a hero. That kind of loyalty…that selfless sacrifice…had to be rewarded somehow. And Steve and Tony had been close friends ever since that day.

"You do realize, of course, that you were breaking several laws and probably deserved to get your butts kicked off campus." It was not in Kate's personality to hold back when something needed to be said. "Another person might view Tony's actions as that of an accomplice to a crime, rather than the impressive status of Big Man on Campus."

"C'mon Kate. You've worked with Tony for almost two years now. You are a talented profiler. Surely you have seen that Tony is a man capable of extreme loyalty. You must have figured out how his mind works by now." Steve smiled softly, but Kate could see real concern and affection for her partner in his hazel eyes.

"Maybe you can help me be better at that particular job." She tilted her head and arched a brow as she saw his expression shut down. "Then again, maybe not."

"You know that I won't cross that line." His tone did not leave room for discussion or compromise. Then he looked at her through his ridiculously thick eyelashes, his expression suddenly a bit coy. Seriously, it wasn't fair. How much mascara did she use every morning? And yet her eyelashes weren't anywhere as pretty as his. "Maybe you can share what you've observed and we'll see if you are on the right track at all."

Dragging her gaze from his, she attempted to focus on Tony Dinozzo (difficult because Steve Adler was plenty distracting all on his own). "Subject has seemingly limitless capacity for memory. He remembers specific details from cases, abbreviations, and other random facts that Gibbs finds useful. He is loyal to Gibbs in what some would consider an unhealthy way." She remembered the case on the USS Enterprise with Stan Burley. "He values his relationship with his boss and guards it like a jealous sibling. He seems to constantly seek affirmation and is happy to receive it in any way, even a smack to the head." At this, Steve's eyes narrowed, obviously displeased by that piece of information. "What? Gibbs smacks him on the head to keep him focused."

"Does he strive for that particular action, or is he looking for more positive reinforcements?"

She considered the question. "I think he seeks the physical response. He doesn't believe words very often, and when McGee first started, Tony struggled to find appropriate verbal acknowledgements of the young agent's success. Physicality seems to be a strong positive and negative indicator for his own achievements. Maybe this is why he struggles to engage in long term relationships. Once the initial physical infatuation fades, he worries that nothing will take its place."

"And what does this fixation on physical response suggest, specifically from Gibbs?"

She huffed out a breath, annoyed with herself for not taking the time to figure this out sooner. "It suggests that Tony was abused at some point, probably beginning at a very young age. Most likely starting from the time span where children begin to equate positive and negative reinforcement as a response to their own behavior. Tony sees Gibbs as an authority…a father figure…and he seeks the physical contact, painful though it may be at times…to reassure himself that someone cares about him." Suddenly she remembered the flinch after the case in Cuba with Paula. She and Gibbs had both noticed and Gibbs had pledged to find out what was going on. Of course, then things picked up and Gibbs had found other obsessions, other puzzles to take Tony's place. Kate had even forgotten about the incident until this very moment. Why had they shoved their curiosity aside? Why was it so easy to put questions about Tony away?

"What else can you tell me about Tony?"

"He appears very self-assured when it comes to women. Brags a lot, in fact, about his conquests." She frowned, trying to fit another piece of the puzzle together. "But when I question his prowess, his physical appearance, his eating, he seems very insecure. He looked genuinely hurt when I told him that he should be careful about how he eats because it could lead to him being out of shape. Like he was getting flabby. I meant it as a dig, but he took it seriously. If he is as arrogant as he would have me believe, my opinion wouldn't matter much to him. But it does."

"And what does this tell you?"

"That the confidence is an act. The insecurity is the more genuine of the emotions. It's the confidence he is faking." She was starting to feel as if she didn't know Tony at all. Now that she was thinking about it, she was disgusted by how she'd treated him. Granted, he was a goofball, but he was a friend too. Maybe that's why she didn't push him for details about his childhood. His parents. Anything that he didn't feel comfortable sharing.

"Did you ever meet his parents?" she asked suddenly.

"His mom died long before I met him. I think there may have been some sort of mental illness. Something he said once made me think that she may have been depressed." Steve's tone was careful, like he didn't want to tell her too much. But Kate could see immediately what he meant.

"Did she kill herself?" She could hear her voice getting shaky and cursed her emotional responses. This was why she could never be a psychologist. Right now all she wanted to do was run to Tony's house, make him some soup, and tuck him into bed. Of course if she did that he would probably laugh at her and expect her to keep him company in said bed.

"He never said she did, but he never said much. Mentioned once that it had been a surprise, so I assumed it wasn't a disease of any kind. Then he said something about visiting her at a hospital. I asked if she'd been injured and his response was that it wasn't that kind of hospital." He shrugged. "I did meet his father once. Tony came home with me for Christmas. He never went home and I managed to work out that his father was in Austria that year for some business. My mom and dad loved Tony, of course, so they insisted that he join us for the holidays in Pennsylvania. Not that I minded; Tony is a fun guy to have around. Interestingly, we ran into the man as he was leaving a hotel in Pittsburgh. We were downtown to see a Penguins game. It was awkward and Tony's dad was very patronizing towards him. After we left him, Tony seemed so closed off that I didn't ask him the obvious question."

"Was Tony lying to you or did his dad lie to him?" Kate sighed.

"I did see, though, that he was not alone at that hotel. He had a woman with him. I say woman, but she couldn't have been much older than we were at the time. The whole situation was uncomfortable and Tony never talked about it again."

"He mentioned to Gibbs once that he had to report the details of his day to his dad. He would pour him three fingers of Scotch with one ice cube and discuss his day at school. I got the impression that it was not a happy memory." Kate thought about that for a moment. Why hadn't she pursued this? Then she remembered that it was the same day that they had been held captive in Autopsy by Ari. No wonder she let it go.

"His dad was definitely drunk when I met him."

"So what do we know about Tony Dinozzo, really?" She laughed, but even she noticed that it was a cutting, bitter sound. "Nothing at all."

"That's not true." Steve kissed her gently. "We know he's loyal to a fault, brave, and completely unwilling to let others into his head."

"We know that he was probably abused and sees his dysfunctional relationship with Gibbs as a normal father/son experience." She considered. "And we know that his mom may have killed herself and that his father would rather screw college girls than spend any time with his only child."

"What will you do?" Steve was asking, of course, if she was going to put her single-minded determination into discovering everything she could about her surprisingly enigmatic partner.

"As soon as I can get the time, Tony and I will be having a long talk." She smiled. "He can't hide from me forever. I will figure him out if it's the last thing I do."

Of course she couldn't know that in less than six months, she would be dead.


End file.
